Airbag light on, air bag non functional now?

[Bengali86]

Hey all-

I started my 99 M3 (78k on the clock) this morning before i left for work. But i noticed my airbag light was staying on.

Is this just a bad sensor? or does it mean the airbag may not be functional anymore. Its going to be about a week before i can take it in to check it out, i just want to make sure safety is not compromised.

Thanks
Ben

[BSH]

SRS is still functional.

[thejlevie]

SRS is still functional.
I believe that depends on what the fault is. If it were to be a fault in an air bag firing circuit I would guess that bag won't fire. And there are other faults that could render the system inop.

[MAFA]

It might be the failure of the sensor for the passenger seat to detect if a small child is sitting there.

[M3griff]

SRS is still functional.

I believe that the default response on the older (e36) cars is for the system to be in operable when the light is showing. This makes sense from a liability perspective - if the light turns on, the customer is supposed to have a dealer diagnose the cause. In the meantime, BMW can claim that you have been notified that the system won't work - better than risking having if go off at an inopportune time.

In any case, you will need to get the codes read - probably a seat belt latch problem or the occupancy sensor.

Jeff

[schnitzer325]

Let me know what the problem is when you have it checked out because mine just did the same thing.

[BadR1]

my srs light was on when i bough my car let it sit like that for over a year and took it to a dealer and they just reset it. Haven't had a problem since.

[Bengali86]

Let me know what the problem is when you have it checked out because mine just did the same thing.


Will do, may have to wait till friday though :(

Thanks for the help all

[DarkVader]

my srs light was on when i bough my car let it sit like that for over a year and took it to a dealer and they just reset it. Haven't had a problem since.

Is this a free/courtesy check/reset from BMW?...

[thejlevie]

Is this a free/courtesy check/reset from BMW?...
That depends entirely on your dealer. Some will do a code scan and reset for free and some will charge (usually 1/2 hour of labor). The same seems to apply to indie shops, in my experience.

[M3 Pete]

Is this a free/courtesy check/reset from BMW?...
:lol

not from any dealer around here! But then again, Santa Monica and Beverly Hills BMW are reputed to have some of the worst service departments anywhere. YMMV.

[rcM3]

+1 for I reset it without fixing anything and it went away.